On today's Reel Web we talk about the new YouTube Marketplace and what that might mean for creators and brands, and how you might be able to get a piece of that $200 million worth of marketing budget. We also talk about YouTube's search for the next big stand-up comic, an update to the new YouTube Android app, and a whole lot more updates to YouTube you should know about including changes to the dashboard, the ability to pick start/end times on embedded videos, updated annotations, and the ability for people to upload videos to you through a submission box...whew! That's a lot of stuff to go over!

Tapping into YouTube

Last year, YouTube shocked people when they said they were going to spend 100 million dollars on original content for YouTube. That’s been going fairly well. If you thought that was shocking, however, you’ll be even more shocked to learn they are going to spend another 200 million dollars on the new YouTube Marketplace.

What is Marketplace?

Marketplace is YouTube’s newest concept. The people at YouTube know that idea content creators are making good stuff. They want to help the creators make more money so they can continue this work. By doing so, they not only help creators, but their communities as well.

Because of this, YouTube thought it would be nice if YouTube users could create profiles and advertise. They’ve designed Marketplace to do that, and it should be available later this summer. Some creators are excited, because they feel there will be more opportunities for them. Theoretically, this may be true, but maybe it isn’t.

Brand/Creator/Audience Relationship

There is a long history of tension between brands, creators, and audiences. Usually, the brand comes to the creator and wants them to advertise their stuff. The creator agrees, but later finds out that the brand wants their hand into everything they do. It stifles the creator’s creativity, and the end product is usually pretty much a commercial for the brand. Most people, at least those with DVR, fast forward through commercials. Why would they want to watch them on YouTube? What usually happens is the brand isn’t happy with the creator, the creator isn’t happy with the brand, and the audience isn’t happy either. They feel the creator has let them down. If one member in the brand/creator/audience relationship isn’t happy, then the relationship won’t work.

Experience and knowledge in the marketing brand world, the YouTube world, and the audience world is important. It takes someone with that kind of experience and knowledge that can put all the stuff together so everyone is happy. There aren’t a lot of people who can do that. Marketplace may effectively eliminate networks.

Networks

Networks stand between brands and creators. They do all negotiating for the creators. They know both worlds, as well as the audience world, and can see to it that everyone is served well. Marketplace, in fact, may cause brands to become disinterested and not want to work with creators. The audience won’t like it if creators are plugging commercials. Networks have full-time people working for the brands to make sure they get their money’s worth, while also seeing to it that the creators are getting paid well. When both the brand and the creator are happy, then the audience will be happy.

I’d like to know your opinions about Marketplace. Tell me what you think about it. Will it work, or will it be a train wreck? Whatever your opinion may be, let me know.

Other New Things at YouTube

NextUp: YouTube’s NextUp project is doing well. It’s really easy to enter. All you have to do is make a 30 sec trailer about your channel. Create your own mini commercial for your content and submit it to them. If they like it, you get chosen. If you win, you get money for new equipment, one-on-one mentoring, and lots of other support.

The next category for the NextUp project is “Stand-up Comics.” If you consider yourself a comedian and would like to enter, just click on the link below for more information.

Android App: YouTube now has an App on Android. It allows you to download all your subscription videos on the go to your phone to watch later. They’re also working on a feature that will allow it to go from your phone to your TV.

Dashboard: If you are a YouTube creator, chances are you’ve already seen the new dashboard layout. With it, you can click and see everything that is happening with your channels including updates, videos, comments, latest analytics and stats all in one place.

Start/end points: Now, if your video is embedded, you can actually set a start and end point for the clip you want to play. After viewing it, simply select the parts you like and with this feature, you only watch the parts you want to see

API: While this isn’t exactly new, it does appear to be an unfortunate well-kept secret. Don’t worry. You don’t have to be super nerdy to use it. With this development, YouTube Direct lets you add a submission box on your site so that people can send videos to you. If you want, you can turn all the clips into playlist to share with your viewers. YouTube Direct isn’t the only site you can do this with. Two other popular sites you can use are wetransfer.com or dropbox.com.